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The Mercedes-Benz W136 was Mercedes-Benz’s line of four-cylinder automobiles from the mid-1930s into the 1950s. The car was first presented in public in February 1936, although by that time production had already been under way for a couple of months. Between 1936 and 1939, and again between 1947 and 1953 it was the manufacturer’s top selling automobile.

After the Second World War the W136 became the foundation on which the company rebuilt, because enough of the tooling had survived allied bombing or could be recreated.

1949 saw the arrival of the Mercedes-Benz 170S version of the W136. This model is in retrospect sometimes celebrated as the first S-Class Mercedes-Benz. It was a more luxurious, costlier and, when launched, slightly larger version of the mainstream model and the manufacturer made an effort to maximize the differentiation between the two. The Mercedes-Benz 170 Sb and 170 DS were even given a different works number in 1952, being internally designated between 1952 and 1953 as the Mercedes-Benz W191.

1955 was the car’s last year of production. Its replacement, the W120 had already been on sale since July 1953, after which the older model was repositioned in the market as a lower priced alternative to the new one.

The Mercedes-Benz 170 SV and 170 SD were also built briefly in Argentina from 1952-1955 in sedan, taxi, pick-up and van versions.